November 26, 2009

Turkey Day Down Under

So, it's Thanksgiving (well, it's Thursday here, anyway), and something I'm asked every year is whether or not I celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia. The answer is...sometimes.

I have in the past, and likely will again in the future. This year though, I gave it a miss, and here's the reason why:

That is a photo from my local grocery store. Demonstrating that a 15lb bird costs over $65. Amazingly enough, this is a "special".

I like turkey. Just not that much.
Posted by Lisa in Oz at 9:29 PM
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12 shout-outs:

  1. LOL I so totally agree with ou on that one.. we are from WA and that was from woolworths.. its rediculous how much a turkey is.. I am orignally from Canada.. so yeah thanksgiving means more to us that comes from a place that celebrates it .. but I can't justify spending 65.00 on an item of food!!! Its like alot of other things here that are REDICULOUSLY priced... like baby items... do you find them to be expensive here too... I just saw today at baby on a budget a nice chicco travel system it sells here for 999.00 and in america its only 300.00 WHY!!!
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  2. Holy Heck!!! I think the special for turkey around here is $.49 a pound. I wonder if it is because the turkeys from from a location other than Australia?! It is so hard to believe that things are priced so differently.

    Happy Thursday!!

    ~Working Mommy
    Come on by, stay for a while and leave a comment or two!!
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  3. Holy cow!!! I cannot believe how much turkey's are there. I would skip it as well lol totally don't like turkey enough to spend almost $100 bucks on one.
    Well Happy Thanksgiving. It's about being thankful anyway. The turkey and all the food is just a bonus lol
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  4. @ Michelle - OMG yes! A crib I like here is about $600, while in the States the *exact same* crib is like $175. Insanity! I understand there are import costs, etc., but I still think the markup is way too high due to a captive market. Half the time it's cheaper to buy stuff from the USA, even if you still have to pay insane shippig charges.

    @ Working Mommy - the turkeys are bred and raised in Australia, so it's not so much due to having to import them. I think it's more because there isn't as large of a market for turkey meat here (it's really only in the last 10 years or so that people have started eating it), so it's probably a cost/demand thing. Still ridiculous, though!

    @ Ashlee - excellent point! It is all about being thankful for what we have. :-)
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  5. Holy moly!! Seriously? THAT much for a turkey? Wow! I can see why you skipped it this year. Well, happy Thanksgiving to you anyway. Nice to meet you via SITS! :-)
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  6. With the kids, I've made a point to celebrate each year. This year's turkey was 6.6 kgs and came fresh from a farm in rural Victoria. $10.99/kg. Yes, a $72.50 turkey. Yes, it's crazy, but it's the price of keeping the tradition alive I suppose. I don't like the cost, but I love the tradition. :)
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  7. What!? I had no idea things are so expensive there! That is crazy!
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  8. At christmas time the price will probably come down. Thanksgiving isn't a celebration in Australia and we tend to only have turkey at Christmas time, not in November!
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  9. I suffered a little sticker shock while shopping for my bird, too. Then I realized that the expensive turkeys were those organic, free-range, whatever guys. I stuck with my 69 cents a pound standby, and it was quite delish! SITS sent me by, and I'm glad they did...

    Mrs.Scribe Reviews: How to Lose Your Self of Steam
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  10. Holy Cow or should I say Turkey! No wonder you forwent the holiday. I can't say that I blame you:).

    Stopping by from SITS...have a great day!

    Frannie
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  11. *thud* I am in shock! There is no way I would pay that for turkey. Craziness!
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